Harsh Words
by AggresiveFangirling
Summary: Wally is furious about the failed mission, and how Artemis 'betrayed' them. His words may as well drive her away, but maybe it isn't too late.
1. Salt On Old Wounds

_Hiya, my fellow spitfire lovers! I wrote this fic a while ago, and I'm currently trying to edit it. Really hope you like it!_

Set after: _Season 1, Episode 23, "Insecurities"  
_ Disclaimer: _I don't own Young Justice. But I do own this Nutella jar, and it'll hopefully stick by me while I write this._

Set after: _Season 1, Episode 23, "Insecurities"  
_ Disclaimer: _I don't own Young Justice. But I do own a Nutella jar, and it'll hopefully stick by me while I write this._

* * *

 _Mount Justice  
December 5, 03:21 EST_

 _"Well, nice going," Wally narrowed his eyes at Artemis. "What you've proved is that you're insecure and selfish."_

 _Artemis found that she could not look at him anymore, and the disappointment in his manner hurt more than any words he could utter._ _Ashamed, she dropped her gaze._

 _"Keep the sai. This is the right souvenir for the mission."_

...

 _Mount Justice  
_ _December 6, 09:31 EST_

Laughter bubbled out of the kitchen. Sweet, infectious laughter. For a moment, it felt as though nothing had changed. For a moment, Artemis forgot the mission from yesterday, and for a moment, she felt relief flooding into her chest.

She stood in the hallway, a few feet away from the entrance, hesitant. Swallowing, she stepped forward and into the room.

And then that moment ended.

Almost instantly, a redhead, who had been the center of merriment became silent. He turned his head ever so slightly and scoffed, "What a pleasant surprise. Harpy's here!"

Artemis frowned. "Nice to see you, too," she replied dryly, walking past him without another glance.

Dick suddenly cleared his throat, desperate to take the focus off of the hotheads before an argument broke between them. "Anyway ... Miss M, how about another cookie?" He asked with a forced grin. The others exchanged wary glances.

"Sooo, Artemis." Wally plopped his elbows down on the island, tilted his head, and with mock politeness, continued, "Would you care to tell us why you ... _betrayed_ us?"

Artemis clenched her teeth. She didn't turn around to look at him, but said as calmly as she could, "I didn't betray anyone."

"Yeah, right," Wally snorted. "It's totally not the reason the mission failed."

By this time, everyone looking tiredly at Wally, and Zatanna fixed especially threatening eyes on him. Robin held back a groan.

Artemis whipped around, but before she could even open her mouth to reply, Kaldur hastily stepped in. "Enough, Wally."

"No, why should I stop? The only one who did anything wrong here is _her_ , Kal. You know it's her fault-"

"I said, 'Enough,'" Kaldur repeated firmly. "It is wrong of you to accuse her of something she did not do."

Wally rolled his eyes. "Whatever," He mumbled. "I still think we should kick the mole.."

Artemis' eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

Robin sighed. "Wally, just stop."

"Fine, whatever.."

...

 _Mount Justice  
_ _December 9, 04:34 EST_

Sweat dripped off her forehead as she practically tore apart the punching bag in front of her.

 _Punch._

"Stupid.. Dad!"

 _Smack._

"Stupid Roy, Stupid Jade."

 _Kick._

"STUPID WALLY!"

It swung forward and then hurtled back at Artemis, causing her to lose her footing and fall. With one last snarl of anger, she whirled her foot at the unfortunate punching bag and knocked it straight off the chains holding it up. The vinyl finally gave way and stuffing poured out.

While most girls would vent by crying or locking themselves up in a room, it seemed the only way Artemis could feel better was by beating the crap out of any object - or person - that happened to be in front of her.

Her panting slowly subsiding, she fell back onto her back, worn out. Though it was late, she found that she couldn't sleep. There was too much on her mind. And while punching her anger out was a good distraction, her thoughts overpowered it. One scene kept repeating itself over and over again inside her head. It happened a few hours after their encounter in the kitchen.

~flashback~

 _Artemis sat stoically on the couch, staring blindly at the static in the TV as Conner might have done. She wasn't exactly hurt by what Wally had said, she thought she deserved that much, but the rest of them practically treated her with something like pity, save for Robin and Zatanna._

 _"I'm not going to act sorry for what I said," A voice said from behind her. She recognized it immediately._

 _Her face hardened. "Likewise, I never asked you to."_

 _Wally glared at the back of her head. Maybe he thought that glowering down at her would reassure him that he didn't feel even a little remorse at what he had said, that day and the day before, but the scowl only deepened._

 _"I didn't even realize you were so bad at the whole 'hero gig,'" He added, walking over and standing in front of her, so she was forced to look at him. "Did you do it just so they would get away?_ _And what did Roy even do to you?"_

 _Artemis didn't say anything, but her fingers tightened on the remote controller._

 _"Can't believe I actually trusted you."_

 _She winced._

 _"Sportsmaster, got away because you felt the need to prove yourse-"_

 _"What's your deal?" Artemis shot up and faced him angrily. Wally bit back a smirk, he'd gotten to her._

 _"Well, am I wrong?" Wally crossed his arms. Artemis didn't answer. "See? Just like before, no response."_

 _"What do you want me to do, Wally?" She demanded. "Do you expect me to walk out because I messed up one time? Or because your best pal Roy finally decided to show up?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. That provoked Wally even further, and he spoke without a second thought._

 _"Hey, he's a real archer. Face it, Harpy, you aren't needed anymore."_

 _Artemis' stern gaze faltered. She felt her eyes sting. With the emotional battle she was having with herself still raging on inside, the realization of the truth behind Wally's words hit her like a blow on the face._

 _She couldn't even muster up enough hatred to throw at him, and breaking apart her eyes from his, powerwalked out of the room, muttering under her breath, "I will leave if I have to."_

 _She said it in a low voice, but Wally just barely caught the words._

 _He knew he was overreacting, but they argued all the time, didn't they? This would just boil over and they'd be fine again, wouldn't they? She'd stay .. wouldn't she? He pushed his thoughts away, and walked in the other direction, feeling more at loss and frustrated than satisfied._

~flash back~

Artemis growled. Her whole body ached as she pushed herself up, eyes darting across the room with something like desperation.

'Distraction, distraction..'

After a few moments, they landed on something and lit up. Now, Artemis was no Dick Grayson when it came to acrobatics, but she had her fair share of intense training as a child, perhaps more intense than the others, and she made her way towards the uneven bars, ignoring the pain that was beginning to spread through her body.

Jumping up, she grasped the bar tightly and swung forward. Almost instantly, her arms began to hurt. But that didn't stop her. If someone were to observe her at this moment, they would see that, yes, there wasn't too much grace in her movements, but power there certainly was. Channeling all of her emotions - anger, fear, sadness - she was about to let go and leap for the other bar when her finger slipped.

 _Thud_.

Once again, she found herself laying on the floor. Helpless.

"What is wrong with me today?" Artemis muttered bitterly. Everything seemed to be going wrong. Only then did she see the bruises on her stomach and the little streams of blood trickling down her hand.

'It would've been so much easier if I'd never joined ... What if they find out the truth about me, about my family? Daddy issues galore.. After all of this, they'd never accept me.'


	2. Bye

_**Hii y'all! I'm so sorry for not updating! I was just really sick and couldn't do anything at all. Much better now so I'll continue writing again.**_

 _ **Also, I need you guys to know that I try to update at least one of my stories in 1-3 days. So I'm sorry if I don't update the one you want because I try to do all of them as soon as possible.**_

 ** _Your reviews ACTUALLY help me continue because it either gives me ideas or just support so it inspires me to make more. It just tells me that people like my work, even though it isn't much._**

 **MEANWHILE IN WALLY'S ROOM**

Wally twisted and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. The reason was he felt guilty of yelling at her, but still didn't do anything. He had convinced himself that he was awake because he was hungry, not because he kept thinking about the archer.

"I'll go get cookie," he muttered to himself, swinging his legs off the bed and getting up. He walked through the quiet hallway, "Everyone must be asleep," he pondered to himself.

He zipped to the kitchen had grabbed a cookie from a plate sitting on the counter, ready for midnight snacks.

' _Thanks, M'gann,'_ Wally thought, knowing the girl kept some extra food especially for him, ' _Yeah, she's way better than Artemis who wouldn't even c-'_

Wally stopped immediately at the thought of the archer, "Why am I thinking about that betrayer?" he growled.

Suddenly he heard a loud thud coming from the training room.

 _'Apparently someone_ is _awake,_ ' Wally thought, pushing a whole cookie in his mouth and with crumbs falling out of his mouth, he jogged to the training room.

Inside, he saw Artemis sitting on the ground near the large punching bag that she had been destroying.

"Speak of the devil," Wally whispered, crossing his arms and taking in her sight. Even though he was at the door, opposite to where she was sitting, he could clearly see her battered state.

The scratched on her olive skinned arms, and blood coming from out from a bruise on her hand. Her hair was messy and hanging all around her, having gotten out of the usual pony. Wally couldn't help but notice that it looked pretty like that.

He wanted to go up to her and help her out, but his pride and anger kept him. He kept repeating how she 'betrayed' them in his head, just to make sure he didn't forget how much he 'hated' her right now.

Artemis apparently didn't noticed the other person's presence in the room, "….Wally," she said in a low voice, causing the speedster to perk up and hide behind the door, eager to listen, "Like it wasn't enough to bare and he had to put more salt on an old wound,"

She still didn't see Wally, who was feeling guilty and happy at the same time, feeling that he had accomplished what he had yelled at her for, but also feeling a tiny bit of regret.

"Maybe I really should leave if he hates me so…." Artemis' voice trailed off when she saw Wally standing at the door. And even though she said it in a low voice, she was sure the speedster heard it. Frankly she didn't care if he did or not, it was what 'wanted' so she might as well do it.

She quickly picked herself up, wincing when she used her hand to push herself up. After grabbing her archery equipment, she carefully walked past the speedster, feeling that he might yell again at her any second.

But Wally didn't yell, he felt the opposite, actually. He stood there shocked at what he heard; unable to think of what might happen if she left.

"I don't care if she leaves," he argued with himself, sitting down on a bench, "It's better if she does,"

What Wally didn't know was that Artemis was standing in the hall, listening to what he said, hidden in the darkness.

She felt her eyes widen and glisten for a moment, ' _He really wants me gone, doesn't he,'_ she thought, wiping her eyes and quietly running back to her room.

 **Next Morning (weekend)**

Artemis didn't sleep at all last night, after hearing what Wally had said, she kept thinking about leaving the team, but she didn't want to.

She knew that if she did, the others might try to convince her to come back. She wanted to stay for their sake, and because she really loved her team, though she never said anything. She even loved Wally before, as a friend or maybe even more, but she didn't anymore.

If he hated her so much, she would try to stay out of his way. Artemis sighed, "Why did I go on that stupid mission?" she groaned, holding her head in her hands.

Sighing again, she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the water tap. She couldn't go outside with everyone asked how she got hurt so much.

She took off her clothes and stepped into the tub, biting her lip at the pain she felt when the water hit her.

While she showered, she wondered why Wally hated her so much all of a sudden. He said she was a real archer, how she belonged on the team and much more.

Was it because Roy joined? Was it because she betrayed his trust, though she clearly didn't.

"I can't believe I actually liked the back stabbing idiot," She said through gritted teeth, closing the tap and putting a towel around her.

After wringing her long, wet hair, she went out into her room. When she glanced at the mirror, she noticed a cut on her face which he hadn't seen before.

Groaning, she wondered what she could do to hide it. She knew one thing she could, but she hated it. Makeup.

"Better than the load of questions I'm going to get," she said to herself, slipping on a pair of black skinny jeans, and a long sleeved shirt which came up till her hand, hiding half of the bruise.

Artemis gritted her teeth and took step by step until she reached the horrible drawer where the makeup lay. Slowly putting out a hand, she opened it and there stood her enemy, looking up at her.

Rolling her eyes, she picked out foundation and some powder.

"Really wish I took up that lesson M'gann was offering," Artemis mumbled, smiling despite herself, in amusement.

She was quick to apply it and almost all the cuts were either gone, or covered nicely. The bad part was she absolutely hated makeup and was sure her team would notice because she _never_ wore it, and because Wally might spit out what he had seen her like.

Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was almost ten. Looking at her appearance once again, from her long sleeved shirt to her face, she took a deep breath and left the room.

"What am I so afraid of?" she said to herself, "We always get hurt, but worry about each other like mother hens," she added, snorting to herself.

"Artemis!" M'gann's cheery voice called when she saw the girl come into the kitchen.

"Hi, M'gann," Artemis replied with a smile, "Hi guys," she added, looking at the table where Kaldur, Conner, Robin and Zatanna were sitting.

A chorus of 'Hi' and 'Hello' happened before Artemis seated herself for breakfast.

Robin was eying the girl carefully, wondering why she looked different. He knew all about the fight that had happened a few days ago, half because Wally had vented to him about it, and half because it was what the team usually talked about these days.

He nudged Artemis, "Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice, not being able to see the girl look so distant and sad. She was like an older sister to him, and he cared about her.

Artemis nodded, "Yeah, why?" she asked, knowing very clearly that the young detective had noticed her different appearance.

Robin thought of asking her, but changed his mind and thought of asking her later when they were alone, "Nothing," he said, quickly, "I was just wondering,"

At that moment, Wally choose to walk in. He glanced at Artemis with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't know you had super healing abilities," he said, hopping onto a chair and helping himself to some pancakes.

Everyone's head perked up at this, "I don't know what you're talking about," Artemis said as coolly as possible, knowing the ever jabbering speedster would eagerly tell everyone what had happened.

Robin frowned, "Did you get hurt, Artemis?" he asked, "The last mission wasn't hard," he added, referring to the mission they had yesterday.

"Nothing's wrong," Artemis lied, but everyone was intent on making sure she was okay, clearly following the 'mother hen' thing Artemis had said earlier.

Kaldur frowned, "Tell us, Artemis," he said, "We're your friends and need to know," he paused a moment, "Because we care about you,"

"Most of you," Artemis breathed, staring at her plate and trying to ignore the question.

Wally heard that and felt his anger boil up a little, how dare she say that? He did care about her, even though he hadn't been doing _anything_ to show it.

"Harpy here needed to train," Wally began, a smirk on his face, "Because she needs to prove herself all the time," he continued, earning glares from his teammates, "I agree on that account, she does need to pro-"

"-Wally shut up!" five voices shouted, causing Artemis to jump slightly. The team threw Artemis sorry looks, then turned on Wally with threatening glares.

Artemis felt her eyes fill up a little, but she blinked the tears away before they showed. Her lip quivering, she looked at Wally, her expression between hurt and angry.

She took a deep breath, and turned back to the team, "I was only practicing," she told them, forcing a smile, "Or as Wally calls it, 'Proving myself'," she added bitterly, her face scrunching up as she ate some pancakes.

"You don't need to prove yourself," Robin said in a low voice, smiling comfortingly at his 'older sister'.

Artemis nodded, and continued eating. The team took the hint and didn't push more on the subject. Well, except Wally, who either didn't understand that Artemis wanted to stop or wanted to annoy her even more.

"Hey guys," he began, getting everyone's attention –except Artemis who didn't look up- " _Roy_ is coming today, right?"

Everyone knew very well that Roy was coming, and also knew why Wally was saying it more.

"That's great," Artemis said suddenly, no emotion in her voice so they didn't know if she was sincere or upset.

"It is," Wally added firmly, a smirk on his face, "This should be _fun_ ," he continued, "A real archer to do things with,"

Artemis couldn't bare it anymore, she pushed herself up and without a look to anyone, she powerwalked out of the room.

Wally suddenly felt very guilty. He let his anger get the best of him and said something that hurt Artemis the most.

The others didn't even bother scolding him. Zatanna sighed and got up, saying that she wasn't hungry anymore.

M'gann and Conner didn't look in Wally's direction and simply started tidying the table without a word. Kaldur bit his lip and sat down on the couch, staring at the floor.

Robin gave Wally a sad look, "Why?" he asked in a low voice, following Kaldur's example and sitting down on the couch.

"I'll be right back," Zatanna said suddenly, sprinting out of the room and after her best friend.

Wally sat on the table, feeling worse than he had felt in the last few days. ' _Robin's right,'_ he thought, ' _Why?'_

"She's Artemis," he said in a low voice to himself, "She'll be okay," he added with a shrug, though deep down he knew that she wouldn't be 'okay'.

"Rob, wanna play a video game?" he asked, zipping over to his friend. Robin simply nodded and grabbed a controller, his mind still on what had happened.

 **BACK TO ZATANNA**

The young magician ran down the long hallways of the cave, hoping with all her heart that Artemis wouldn't be too hurt and would be willing to talk to her. Artemis would usually love to talk, but Zatanna was afraid that she might be too hurt to really talk to anyone.

She halted at Artemis' door, putting her door to the closed door, she could hear one sniffle. Just one sniffle but she knew Artemis was sad.

' _Knocking won't work so…'_ Zatanna thought, pushing the door, trying to open it. She rolled her eyes, Artemis wasn't so stupid. She wouldn't want anyone to just barge in.

"Artemis?" Zatanna called, "Are you there?" she asked, adding to herself, ' _Very original line there, Zatanna,'_

"Yes?" A voice answered after a few moments, "What do you want, Zatanna?"

"Can I come in?" Zatanna asked, pleadingly. She thought she heard a sigh and a few slow footsteps towards the door-

"Come in," Artemis said, opening the door a little, and moving away so Zatanna could pass, which the younger girl did, thankfully.

Zatanna went and sat down on her friend's bed, grabbing Artemis and pulling her with her. She noticed that Artemis' eyes were a little puffy and there was still a ting of red left from the few tears that had escaped the grey eyes.

Zatanna hadn't been in the team too long, but in a few days she became very good friends with Artemis. Faster than any girl Artemis had ever met. So naturally she knew words wouldn't be too useful, instead she wrapped her arms around Artemis, who she hoped wouldn't pull away, and part of her knew she wouldn't.

As she thought, Artemis didn't pull away but did something that surprised her best friend of a few weeks. She lightly put her arms around her friend, feeling comforted. Something that her friends knew deep, deep down, was that Artemis also had a soft side. Even though she was usually a tough and snarky –to Wally, mostly- archer and didn't show too much.

When Zatanna noticed that Artemis was lightly trembling, she held her tightly, comforting her silently.

Once Artemis did finally pull away, she looked gratefully at Zatanna with a look which all the thanks she couldn't put into words.

"Wally didn't mean it," Zatanna said slowly, looking at Artemis.

"Why is he acting like this then? Why is he suddenly so mea-" Artemis stopped short, "Never mind, I don't care,"

Zatanna sighed, "Artemis," she began, putting a hand on her friend's, "You _do_ care,"

Artemis didn't say anything so Zatanna continued, "You care that's why it… hurts so much," Artemis' eyes widened and she opened her mouth to object but nothing came out.

"What's that thing he said about a 'real archer'?" Zatanna asked, half curiously, "Don't tell me if you don't want to," she added quickly.

Artemis smiled and gave her a look saying, 'Why wouldn't I?'

The smile faded a little as Artemis explained how the mission went, then how Wally said the next day about not going to apologize to her. And finally she slowly, and with many pushes from Zatanna, she told her about the gym scene, her voice cracking at what she heard Wally say in the end.

"How could he?" Zatanna murmured, wondering how _Wally_ of all people could say that. Especially after how cool he and Artemis were to each other, the few days before Roy joined. And speaking of Roy, Zatanna planned to have a word with both boys who caused this horrible fiasco.

"You tell me,"

Zatanna looked at Artemis, "If you need anything, we're there for you," she said, turning grave all of a sudden, "Just don't do anything to yourself, please?" she added, squeezing Artemis' hand, "Okay?"

"Okay," Artemis said reluctantly, getting up. Zatanna gave her a nod and walked over to the door.

She turned around suddenly, "Where are you going?" she asked, pointing to the small bag in Artemis' hand which contained her phone, some clothes and a few books.

"Home," Artemis replied, following Zatanna and stepping out of her room, feeling an urge to smirk at Zatanna's expression which was surprised.

"Why?"

"Uh… Because Mom will be waiting," Artemis lied, hoping Zatanna would fall for it. Unfortunately for Artemis, the whole team knew Artemis' mom had gone to Vietnam for a couple of weeks.

Zatanna rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Sure," she paused for a moment, looking sincerely at Artemis, "You should stay here,"

Artemis frowned, "You think I'll get hurt or something? Maybe I really do need to prove myself,"

Zatanna shook her head furiously, "Of course not! It's just that we like having you here. I like having you here,"

Artemis' face broke into a sad smile, "I need some time," she told her friend, putting a hand on Zatanna's shoulder then pulling her into a quick hug.

"See you in a bit," Zatanna said with a smile, knowing Artemis would need some time alone so she didn't say anything about it.

"Bye,"

 _ **Ooooh! What's gonna happen next? Still need some votes because I haven't really decided yet. So basically I'm going to leave it for you to decide.**_

 _ **ONCE I HIT AT LEAST 25 VOTES ON EITHER YES OR NO (Votes in the following) , I WILL CONTINUE ON THAT DECISION**_

 **Should Artemis leave the team? VOTE!**

 **1\. Yes**

 **2\. No**

 **3\. For a little while**

I really like writing and I hope you guys'll vote soon! Until then...

 _Thefanster out!_


	3. Dagger

The next few days went slowly for Wally, and being a speedster it was almost impossible. Artemis hardly ever came to the cave anymore, and when she did, it was either for missions or to hang out with M'gann and Zatanna. The girls almost always hung out in their rooms or outside, so Wally hardly ever saw her.

He didn't have anyone to whisper to on mission briefings, no one to smack him when he didn't understand what Batman was saying, and no one to insult his every move.

A few days ago he realized he _liked_ arguing with Artemis. It was like their way of communicating with each other. And so he began missing the snarky comments she made about him, how she used to tease him.

Artemis didn't even glance his way on mission briefings; she only looked at him in missions when it was needed. Otherwise she always stayed out of his way.

Whenever he _tried_ talking to her, she used to change the subject and start talking with someone else. If they had fought on some other matter, something not so hurtful, Artemis might have just ignored him. But this wasn't the case, she didn't exactly ignore him. She didn't talk with him, and the way she changed the subject was different. As if she was _afraid_ of him.

That part bothered Wally, not in an annoying way, but in a hurt way because Wally wished with all his heart now that he hadn't said what he said before.

"I can't believe we were finally getting along and I just blew it," Wally kept repeating to himself, dreading what had happened.

They were more than just 'getting along,' they were actually beginning to like each other, but now?

Artemis on her part was as stubborn, tough and fun as ever, like the archer always was, but one part of her was broken, and everyone knew it.

Right now the team was in the mission room, getting orders from Batman about the next mission they were about to go to.

"This is not a covert mission. You will search for clues on the injustice leagues attacks. Reports tell us they hit somewhere in Biyalya. This may be something to do with Queen Bee, figure out what," Batman said, earning nods from the team.

"One more thing," Batman suddenly said, "We have heard about Sportsmaster,"

Artemis' eyes widened and Robin glanced at her, giving her a nod and look saying, 'Don't blow your cover'. Artemis bit her lip and turned back to Batman.

"Signs say this may also have something to do with Sportsmaster," Batman continued, "Find out as much as possible, but stay hidden,"

Kaldur, now Aqualad, nodded, "Yes, we will," he said, he turned to his team, "M'gann, the bioshi-"

"-It's ready,"

The team ran to the bioship which was already outside, the back open. Everyone got inside, M'gann at her usual spot, piloting the bioship. Kaldur and Conner were in the two front seats, Wally and Zatanna on M'gann's right, and Robin and Artemis on the left.

Once in the air, Robin tapped on Artemis' shoulder, "Artemis? About Sportsmaster," he began in a low voice, so one could hear. **(A/N: I know Superboy has super hearing but just go with it. Right now he can't hear them talking)**

Artemis frowned, "What about him? I know you know, Dick, but what about him?"

'Dick' cringed at his name, "Don't say it," he said through gritted teeth, earning a smirk and a look saying 'I got you back,' from Artemis.

"What about him?" she repeated, looking at Robin, wondering what he had to say.

"The reason Wally got mad at you was because of the mission,"

Artemis narrowed her eyes, "You just realized that?" she said sarcastically, though she understood very well what he meant.

Robin put his hand on her shoulder, "Look, the mission failed because you had to save your cover,"

Artemis sighed, "I get it, but what are you getting at?"

Robin frowned a little, "I think you should tell everyone about your blood ties," he began, "Artemis it's only going to get worse if you don't, besides, no one would take it too hard,"

Artemis bit her lip, "Yeah they would, maybe M'gann and Zatanna wouldn't, they'd just be shocked but wouldn't leave my side,"

Robin nodded, "Conner wouldn't care, he would just say that you're not like your family,"

Artemis smiled a little, "You don't seem to even care," she said. Robin smiled back, "Why would I? You're not your family, you're one of us,"

Artemis' smile increased, she didn't even have to say anything to show how much those words meant to her.

"That leaves…" Artemis' looked at Robin in horror, "He hates me as it is! This would only add more to fire,"

Robin shook his head, "Artemis, does it seem like he hates you?" he asked, lightly jerking his head to the speedster who sat in his chair, his head bent into his hands.

Artemis bit her lip, "You don't even know what happened," Artemis lifted her hand to silence him when he opened his mouth to object, "Well, maybe you do because Zatanna probably told you?"

Robin nodded, "But I'm also his best friend," he said, "Wally isn't himself now that you're not around,"

"To me, 'himself' is horrible because that's all he says or does in front of me," Artemis frowned.

Robin sighed, "Look, he's different now," he began, "Even though he _thinks_ no one sees it, he really misses not having you around,"

Artemis sighed, "I don't know, Dick," she started, "Maybe I will tell everyone else, but after how Wally has been, don't think that I plan to stay around him too much,"

Robin nodded, "Sure, that's okay," he said, "And trust me, the team thinks – _knows_ you're one of us, and you are,"

Artemis grinned, "Didn't know _Batman's_ adopted son was good with pep talk," she teased, earning a grin from Robin.

Before Robin could reply, M'gann interrupted, "We're almost there,"

The team dropped on some dunes, looking over a high one at a warehouse not far ahead.

 _"Miss Martian, I need you to go in camo to the truck,"_ Kaldur instructed in the telepathic link, pointing to the truck some soldiers were unloading.

Miss Martian nodded, _"Got it Aqualad,"_ she said, flying off.

" _Zatanna, Robin, Conner,"_ Kaldur continued, _"Take a round around the warehouse, search for any signs and report back to the rendezvous point,"_

The trio nodded and sped off, Robin doing the ninja thing and disappearing, Zatanna putting a spell on herself which partly hid her, and Conner hiding from the side and running.

"Artemis, Kid," Kaldur said, making Artemis' eyes go wide and inwardly groan, "Kid I want you to run Artemis into the warehouse, then search it inside out,"

"But…." Artemis began, her voice trailing off, "Fine. _Only_ for the sake of the mission,"

Kaldur nodded, "Be safe, and keep track on the link,"

Wally zipped over to Artemis, a grin on his face when he remembered that he had to run Artemis to the warehouse.

Artemis took a few steps back, "Watch it," she warned, but her warning didn't work because Wally scooped her up, saying, "Hey, It's the only way,"

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Wait, when I say," she said, looking over the dune and waiting for the soldiers to turn, and while they weren't looking, "Now!"

Wally nodded and ran off, while he was running he noticed Artemis suddenly clutching him, surprised at the speed they were going at, "Hold on, Arty," he said, smirking.

Normally Artemis would have smacked him for a comment like that, now she only held onto his shoulders, avoiding eye contact.

"There!" Artemis hissed, pointing to an opening from a window. Wally nodded and sped upto where Artemis pointed, lightly putting the girl to her feet.

"Where to?" he asked. Suddenly Artemis grabbed his arm and pushed him on the side of the building, "Shh! Inside here,"

Artemis tiptoed up to the window and hoisted herself up, her blonde hair following her. Wally followed her example, pushing himself up and lightly dropping.

" _Everyone here?"_ M'gann's voice came in everyone's head.

" _Yeah, Miss M, this place is whelming,"_

 _"Yeah,"_

 _"Yes, M'gann,"_

 _"Affirmative,"_ Kaldur answered _, "Artemis, Wally?"_ he asked, not hearing their replies.

 _"We're here, Aqualad,"_ Artemis replied.

 **ROBIN AND ZATANNA**

Robin and Zatanna went to the back of the warehouse, hiding behind the huge dunes and blocking the sand from coming into their eyes as they did.

Robin pressed a finger to his lip, pointing to the soldiers who were on the back side. Zatanna nodded and looked around, searching for people. So far they didn't see anyone other than the Biyalya soldiers patrolling the warehouse. But they wouldn't do that unless they were protecting something.

 **MEANWHILE**

M'gann was approaching the truck in camouflage mode. She frowned when she saw nobody except the Biyalyan soldiers.

She noticed some people inside the warehouse, talking in low voices. Even after squinting her eyes she couldn't see anything, but she couldn't go inside or she might be caught.

" _Everyone here?"_ M'gann's voice came in everyone's head.

" _Yeah, Miss M, this place is whelming,"_ Robin replied, " _No one here but soldiers,"_

 _"Yes, M'gann, I'm here," Conner said._

 _"Affirmative,"_ Kaldur answered _, "Artemis, Wally?"_ he asked, not hearing their replies.

 _"We're here, Aqualad,"_ Artemis replied, " _And this place is bad,"_

Kaldur himself was looking through binoculars. He had decided not to go anywhere and stay in the rendezvous point, ready to come at any moment.

" _How? Any signs of Queen Bee,"_ he asked, not hoping for the worst.

 _"No,"_ Artemis replied, _"But we saw Sportsmaster with the soldier. Apparently they're loading some sort of liquid onto the truck,"_

 _"Good. Keep searching,"_ Kaldur ordered.

" _Superboy, meet me back at the rendezvous point. Miss Martian and Zatanna, start searching the warehouse from the east side,"_

 _"Got it, Aqualad,"_ Zatanna said, running off through the dunes.

 **Back to Artemis and Wally**

"What?" Artemis asked in a low voice, after being stared at for a few moments. Wally shook his head, ' _Concentrate, West,'_ he said, trying to tear himself away from the pretty archer.

"Nothing," he replied, "What should we do?"

Artemis cross her arms, "You're asking me?" she whispered, as if reproaching him for insulting her before.

Wally frowned, "Look, we need a plan," he said, hiding behind a huge box, peeking over it to see Sportsmaster talking to someone they hadn't seen before.

"I don't know what to do," Artemis said, "They would see us if we went,"

"I'm going closer," Wally said, getting up from his crouch, suddenly Artemis grabbed his wrist, sending shivers down his spine but he was concentrating on something else.

"Where are you going?" she hissed, pulling him back.

"What? I'm going there," Wally hissed back, matter-of-factly, giving her a look, "You worried?" he added slyly.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "No, not really. It's Sportsmaster, you don't know him! He's not going t-"

"Oh, and you do? We've been doing the hero work way more than you, pal!" Wally didn't wait for Artemis to day anything else, he zipped over, so close to the villains that he could hear every word they said.

Artemis inwardly groaned, "We are so gonna die," she said to herself, slowly following Wally's examply and creeping up.

"Get the shipping to Bee," Sportsmaster ordered, "This needs to be done…quick.." his voice trailed off when he heard sounds.

"What is it?" The other man asked, looking around as well.

"This!" Sportsmaster shouted, running forward to where Wally was hiding and punching him. Wally wasn't called the fastest boy alive for nothing, he zipped away, ready to fight.

Artemis inwardly facepalmed from her hidden spot, " _Guys, we need back up here!"_ she shouted through telepathic link.

" _We're coming,"_ Kaldur replied, " _Stay hidden-"_

 _"-A little too late for – ahh!"_ Artemis shouted, suddenly being yanked up from her hair by the other man.

"Let her go!" Wally shouted, lunging forward and punching the guy in the face, making him release Artemis and drop her on the ground.

Artemis groaned a little before picking herself up and throwing a kick at the man.

"Woah, my baby girl is getting better," Sportsmaster commented, "But not good enough," he added, kicking her hard in the stomach.

"Artemis!" Wally shouted, zooming up and speed punching Sportmaster, who dodged all of them, while hoping the team would be here soon.

"I told you not to go!" Artemis shouted, dodging punches from Biyalyan soldiers who had come up. She knocked ones gun out his hand by a hard kick in the gut.

"Geez! Of all the times we have to fight," Wally shot back, running away from Sportsmaster.

"Oh, my baby girl has a boyfriend?" Sportsmaster said with a smirk.

Artemis' eyes widened, "Shut up!" she yelled, kicking him in the stomach and making him stumble a few steps.

Wally looked _confused_ ** _,_** "What is he talking about Artemis?" he demanded, ducking just in time when a gun was fired.

Artemis didn't reply because she was too busy dodging punches and sometimes throwing a good on at her father's face.

Wally was about to ask again when he saw Artemis get thrown across the hard cement floor and land with a loud thud, bumping against the wall.

"Buddy, not a good idea," Wally said through gritted teeth, moving back and then running forward as fast possible and landing a hard kick on Sportsmaster's masked face.

The man fell back, hitting a wooden barrel on the way. Wally zipped back to Artemis who lay on the ground, several bruises on her exposed skin.

He quickly helped her up, "Come on," he urged, putting an arm across her waist, half lifting her.

Sportsmaster wasn't going to let them go without a fight. He got out a dagger and ran towards the pair, swinging it at Wally.

Artemis suddenly forgot her hate for Wally and pushed him out of the way, making the dagger hit her instead of him.

It hit Artemis in the stomach, and soon the archer was surrounded in a pool of her own blood.

She thought she heard Wally yell her name but she couldn't do anything. She was losing blood fast and the pain overwhelmed her.

The last thing she saw was her teammates huddling over her before she passed out, maybe never to wake up again.

 _ **Poor Artemis! At least she 'died' saving her friend.**_

 ** _So I didn't make the other characters talk too much in this chapter, it would be too hard. There's like 7 people, then include the villans, the mentors, ahh! To think I was planning to add Roy in this chap, XD_**

 ** _I'm posting updating at least 3 fics today, (this is the 2nd) it's pretty major for me. If you liked it, or disliked it, just tell me! No hard feelings, :)_**

 ** _Thefanster out!_**


	4. Shocks Like Slaps on Your Face

Robin threw a bird-a-rang at a soldier who was running up to him, running towards Wally, "Sorry, we got stopped in the front by those sold-" Robin's voice stopped abruptly when he saw his teammate, "Artemis!"

Aqualad, Superboy and Miss Martian soon caught up to Robin, all of them gasping when they saw Artemis.

"Robin, Zatanna, cover us!" Aqualad shouted over the sound of guns firing, "Kid I need you to go-"

"-No! I'm not leaving her," Wally shouted, "No, I can't…"

Kaldur nodded, "Superboy, carry Artemis to the bioship," he ordered, turning to the clone, "Miss Martian cover him!"

Conner nodded and lightly and gently picked Artemis off the ground, her blood starting to soak his black shirt. Miss Martian's eyes became green as she threw wooden boxes at the enemy and ran after Conner. She quickly opened the back so that they could enter. Once they were inside, Conner placed Artemis on a medical bed which M'gann had made as soon as she got in.

Back outside, Kaldur was fighting off the Biyalyan soldiers with Zatanna, and Wally was fighting Sportsmaster with all his might, avenging his hurt friend.

"Robin!" Kaldur yelled over the noise, "Go help-"

"Going, Aqualad," Robin interrupted, dodging a gun shot and running to the bioship, hoping Artemis would be alright.

"Retreat!" Kaldur told the rest of his team, as soon as Wally punched Sportsmaster's face, knocking him unconscious. More soldiers were coming, this time with war tanks to destroy the young heroes, but the team wasn't going to let that happen.

They ran to the bioship, Wally more worried than he had ever been in his whole life.

"Red Tornado open the hangar doors," M'gann said, her voice desperate. She quickly landed the bioship and opened the back.

Conner, who was standing beside Artemis' bed, along with Robin who was trying to stop the blood, was ready to take her to the infirmary as soon as they landed.

He quickly gathered the injured girl in his arms and jumped out, running as fast as he could inside the cave, hoping his friend would be okay. Kaldur followed him closely.

Wally was about to go, but Zatanna held him back, "What are you doing? I need to go see-"

Zatanna frowned and held his arm tightly, her own trembling a little, "Wally, do you even see yourself? You're hurt yourself, you can't go yet," she objected.

Wally was about to pull away, but he caught the pleading look in Zatanna's eyes. He glanced around and saw the worried and tired faces of the rest of the team.

"Wally, we're all worried," Robin began, "But you'll only hurt yourself more if you worry,"

M'gann nodded, "Artemis _will_ be okay," she added, her voice shaky but determined, as she silently prayed for her friend's safety.

"Fine," Wally croaked, "Let's go to the medical room,"

Robin nodded, and led Zatanna out of the bioship. Anyone could clearly see how shaken she was, her knees looked like they would give way at anytime. The others felt the same, especially Wally, but they did their best, knowing and hoping their friend would be okay.

Presently, they all bandaged their wounds and sat down in the lounge, anxious and worried. Zatanna and M'gann sat together on the couch. The younger girl's eyes were glistening, and M'gann had an arm around her, comforting her silently.

Robin and Kaldur leaned against the wall, their arms crossed. Robin's eyes behind the glasses were almost wet, but he knew Artemis would be okay.

Conner was staring at the door of the lounge, as if on guard so when someone came in, he could ask about Artemis who was currently in the infirmary, being tended by Black Canary and her 'Uncle'.

Wally was sitting on the ground, leaning on the couch, his head bent into his knees. His expression was blank, though his friends knew better. He kept inwardly blaming himself, thinking that he was the reason Artemis got hurt. Which he might be, but wasn't entirely his fault.

' _Why didn't I take the dagger? How could Artemis throw herself in f-front of me after I…'_ Wally kept thinking, his eyes tightly shut.

The room was silent, only with a sigh once in a while from the repentant speedster. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable; it was worried air around the friends.

Wally felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up he saw Robin standing in front of him, giving him a comforting nod.

"Look guys," he said, getting everyone's attention, "What are we moping about? This is _Artemis_ we're talkin' about,"

A few thoughtful nods went round before Robin continued, "Nothing has happened to her before, and we all get hurt. So let's not be so…. Miserable and go on with our lives," Robin chuckled lightly at the end of his sentence, raising smiles from everyone else.

M'gann smiled, "Zatanna, can you help me bake a cake? For Artemis, maybe?" she asked, getting up and walking towards the kitchen.

Zatanna simply nodded and followed her out of the room, a smile on the edges of his lips.

"I must go report to Batman," Kaldur announced, "I will be here when Artemis is done,"

Conner got up, "I'm going to feed wolf," he muttered, following Kaldur out of the room.

Robin grinned, his plan worked. Half of the reason he gave his 'speech' was to get everyone to do their own things so he could talk to Wally.

He sat down on the couch, and looked at his best friend, "You okay?"

Wally sighed, "What have I done?"

Robin pursed his lips, "Wally you're being too hard on yo-"

"-No, Dick," Wally interrupted, "I'm not. Artemis got hurt _because_ of me,"

Robin frowned, "How?" he questioned his friend.

Wally bit his lip, "She tried to stop me from going closer, but I did anyway," he began, pouring forth the story of what had happened.

He told Robin about how he had half insulted Artemis, even in battle, saying that he knew more about villains than her. It was a little thing, but after so many insults, it only added to the flame. He told him how she jumped in front of him, taking the dagger herself, rather than letting it hit Wally.

Robin sighed when Wally finished, "Look, Wally. Artemis hasn't exactly had a perfect childhood, or anything. What I'm saying sounds weird, but if you knew you'd be horrified,"

Wally's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"That's not for me to tell," he said, putting his hands up, "Artemis could tell," he continued, " that is if she wanted to. I don't blame her for it, okay? But it's not for me to tell," Robin added hastily, not wanting to put some more pressure on Artemis.

Wally opened his mouth to object but nothing came out, "Fair enough," he said, "What are you getting at, though,"

"A lotta things, man," Robin said, a grin twitching on his lips, "She's been fighting way more than you _or_ me,"

Wally looked confused. Robin had been fighting alongside Batman ever since he was nine. How could Artemis possibly be fighting more than Boy Wonder himself? Robin continued, "It's not her fault she messed up in the mission with Roy, and it's her way of protecting her friends when she took the dagger… Sportsmaster threw at you,"

Wally looked down, "All I care about right now is that if she's okay," he said, "Not some stupid mission,"

Robin nodded, "Was just telling you, dude," he began, "The rest I'll leave for Art-"

"Hey," a girl's voice said, almost weakly. Wally and Robin spun to see Artemis leaning against the door frame, looking at them, an almost amused look on her face when she saw how worried they were. Typical Artemis. **(A/N: Had to add those two words lmao)**

"Artemis!" Wally shouted, jumping up and wrapping her in a tight hug. Artemis herself was so shocked and surprised that she didn't know half of what was going on.

M'gann and Zatanna burst into the room, throwing their arms around Artemis, followed by Robin.

"Guys!" Artemis croaked, trying to get herself out of the tight hugs, "GUYS!" she said louder, making everyone back up a little.

Wally's face was blood red when he saw what he had done, Zatanna and M'gann were smiling all over and Robin was grinning at her.

Artemis was wearing a loose shirt which covered her bandaged stomach. She stumbled over to the couch, trying her best to stay straight, but failing.

"You okay?" Zatanna asked, following her friend and sitting down next to her.

"Peachy," Artemis replied, forcing a smile for the sake of her worried smile. She didn't glance Wally's way again, making him feel even worse.

"Where's the rest of the team?" the archer asked presently, wondering where they were.

"They should be coming," M'gann replied, all smiled as she flew over and sat down on a chair.

Artemis nodded, "Is everyone okay?" she asked, looking around at the team, all except Wally.

"We're fine," Robin assured her, "You're one to talk, Arty," he added, teasing his friend.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Whatever," she said, grinning at him.

Presently the other team members came, said how glad they were that Artemis was okay, and the general things.

Artemis didn't say a word to Wally throughout the time they were together, ignoring him completely. This made Wally feel worse than ever, but he couldn't pluck up the courage to apologize to Artemis, even after the team sent him looks saying he should, and also encouraging looks.

They all hung out in the lounge until late at night, talking and having fun most of the time. In the middle, Green Arrow came to check up on Artemis, wanting to see if she was okay. The girl, even though she wasn't his niece, had gotten closer to the man, being like his own daughter now instead of 'niece'.

Robin had dared Artemis to play video games and _try_ to beat him. Artemis had beaten the hacker in every single game, taunting and looking at him with a bored expression, while he stared whenever she beat him.

M'gann and Zatanna were always trying to help the injured girl whenever they could, but Artemis always said she could do things herself. This almost always earned a laugh from Robin who kept saying, "Told you she'd be okay, she's _Artemis_ ,"

Even Roy had come to apologize and see how she was doing. It shocked Artemis, but she shrugged it off as a good thing. The two were surprisingly close after they put their differences and grudges against each other aside.

They had a lot of things in common; their love for archery was one. Before Roy left again, he actually said that he liked Artemis. This shocked everyone in the room, but made them glad at the same time. No more fights between the stubborn archers would be good for everyone. Inwardly they all hoped that since Roy apologized, Wally quickly do it as well. But the speedster couldn't face Artemis yet.

It was almost midnight and Artemis had gone to her room in the cave, now staying there instead of at her real home. M'gann, Conner, Kaldur and Zatanna were already asleep. Robin had gone home, and Wally was nowhere in sight.

Artemis yawned, she was lying in bed but couldn't sleep. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled loudly, "You're gonna wake everyone," Artemis muttered to her stomach, "Oh what the heck, I'll just go," she said, carefully sliding off bed and onto the cold marble floor.

She walked quietly down the hallway, wondering if anyone was awake. Her thoughts were clarified when she reached the kitvehn, and low and behold stood Wally, eating directly out of a ice-cream tub. What embarrassed her was that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and stood there _looking_ at her.

"Aaaand I'm not hungry anymore," Artemis said to herself, spinning around on her heel and walking out when suddenly something grabbed lightly but firmly onto her wrist.

With a small yelp, Artemis looked back to see Wally's hand pull her back, "Not so fast," he said.

Artemis crossed her arms, "Yes?" she asked, her face hard. Wally's face paled. He'd stopped her, but he didn't know what to say. If it were M'gann, the words would come out of his mouth like honey, but for some reason it was hard to apologize to Artemis. For three reasons, one, it hurt his pride. Two, he didn't know if she'd accept it. And three, he was afraid.

"So…uhh…" Wally stammered, unable to get a full sentence out. Artemis rolled her eyes, "While you think about what you'll say, how about I get something to eat," she said faking enuthsiam as she passed him to go to the cupboard.

She bustled around, looking for a packet of her traditional green tea. She liked it, and her Mom used to make it for her at home.

Artemis grabbed the electric kettle, filled it with water, then waited for it to get warm, not turning to look at Wally, choosing to face the other way instead.

"How's t-the back?"

Artemis shifted on her legs to face Wally a little, "Fine," she replied, turning her back on his once again. Wally didn't say anything for a while, choosing to stand awkwardly and watch her make tea.

"What're you making?" he asked finally, his curiousity getting the better of him as he bent forward to sniff the scented tea.

Artemis felt her cheeks redden when Wally's head peeked above her shoulder, "Chocolate cake," she replied sarcastically. Wally stayed quiet while Artemis mixed the spic into a large cup, and then poured the hot water to the rim.

Forgetting for a moment that Wally was right behind her, Artemis spun around and bumped into a wall of chest.

"WHAT THE! JESUS CHRIST ARTEMIS! OWWWWWW," Wally whisper-wailed, running all around the kitchen in circles.

Artemis shook her head in surprise, and then got back into motion. Forgetting her grudge against Wally, she reached for a towel and grabbed his arm as he danced in pain, "You idiot," she hissed at him.

Wally froze as she lightly dabbed the hot tea of him, her cheeks turning blood red in embarrassment. Wally's face was equally red, and he watched Artemis quickly pull back and throw the paper towel into the dustbin.

"Owww," Artemis muttered, grabbing another paper towel and wiping her hand with it. The scalding hot tea had fallen on both of them, on Wally's chest and Artemis' hand.

"Uh, sorry,"

Artemis spun around with a confused look, "I dropped it on _you_ ," she explained slowly, still the confused look on her face.

"Um…no about…what I..said," Wally said hesitantly, staring at the floor. This shocked Artemis like a slap on the face. Wally apologizing to _her_?

"I shouldn't have said it," Wally continued, "I was wrong and—"

"Wally,"

"—I shouldn't have said anything. It wasn't—"

"Wally,"

"-No, let me finish, I didn't mean it and it was a lie—"

"Wally!" Artemis cut him off again, "I get it, it's okay, I forgive you," she said, her lips twitching slightly. She was amused at Wally's embarrassment and awkwardness and now understood what he'd meant.

Wally exalded deeply, taking in her words, "You do? Yayy!" Wally exclaimed like a child, hugging Artemis for the second time in the day, and then turning redder than Flash's suit.

Artemis froze, unable to take this in. _Wally_ hugged _her_ in the same day, _twice_. Before she could ask him if he was feeling okay-

"-See you in the morning, Arty!" Wally shouted, running out of the room before Artemis could say another word.

-.

 ** _I know I made you guys wait, sorrryy! But I made an extra long chapter to make up for it, what'd you think? ;)_**

 **Olypic girl 21:** ** _Yeah, lol sorry. It was a cliffy, a bad one XD. Hope you liked it!_**

 ** _Can we get this to 30 reviews? Pleeease? This chap was pretty fluffy, not gonna lie. I was almost cringing and squealing at the same time while I wrote it. lmao_**

 ** _See ya soon,_**

 ** _Thefanster out!_**


	5. You Never Know

_H-hey...my wonderful, amazing and awesome readers! H-How've you been? You're all so amazing, faithful, f-forgiving and k-kind! You'll spare me, r-right? For not updating in almost t-two months?_

 ** _SOORRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!_**

 _I legit forgot about this story, I am sooo sorry! I literally just remembered as I was scrolling through my stories...yeah..  
_ _I feel super bad now, too, because you reached 30 reviews (yay!) and I just let y'all down..._

 _Anyway, enjoy this! And I really, really will try hard and update soon!_

* * *

"Movie night!" Wally shouted, walking – well, running- into the lounge, his face looking excited, like a kid getting candy on Christmas. He might as well have been, because every time he saw Artemis now, his eyes lit up and a huge grin rose to his face, of course, he contained everything when she was looking at him.

Well, as much as he could, anyway, because Artemis had, in fact, caught him staring many times, and returned his red face with a quirk of her eyebrow and a small, unsure and confused smile. Often on these occasions, Robin had to muffle his many snickers and keep a straight face after Zatanna threw him a death glare, though it was clear that she was amused too because her twitching lips said differently.

It was the weekend, a few weeks after the fateful mission, and the team was just lazily sitting in the lounge, having no missions to do, or anything else for that matter. It was almost seven, and they had a busy week. There were a lot of missions, and the light and Queen B had gotten even worse, and they were almost always busy, being sent on undercover and fighting missions.

Artemis hadn't been allowed to go to missions for the first week, and she, of course, had made a huge deal about it. It was amusing to Wally, since he and she still argued, being the two stubborn people that they were, and his snickers and sniggers didn't help at all.

This in the whole always kept Robin and Zatanna entertained, and they'd remarked in loud whispers that the two were-

 _"Just perfect for each other, aren't they, Robin?" Zatanna said, dreamily, though her smirking eyes said differently. Robin snickered and nudged her when Wally turned a death glare on him, inwardly begging his friend to stop before Artemis heard them._

And so, the teasing, snickers, and loud whispers continued.

Anyway, when Wally ran inside, he saw Conner staring at static on the tv, Robin sitting next to him, fidgeting impatiently. M'gann and Zatanna were busy in the kitchen, and Kaldur was with them, trying to keep a straight face and look like he enjoyed what he was eating when they gave him cakes to test.

But Wally wasn't looking for any of the others, his eyes scanned the room and fell on the crowning jewel.

Artemis was sitting lazily on the couch, her legs swung over the arm rest, her hair thrown messily around her shoulders. Wally smiled slightly at the sight of her. Suddenly, he felt Artemis' eyes fall on the entrance –well, him- and she raised an eyebrow, having caught him once more as he stared at her.

She wasn't the only one who felt his presence, Robin immediately spun around, and smirked a little at Wally. He opened his mouth to tease when-

"Do you guys wanna go watch a movie?" Wally asked before Robin could say any smart remark about him and Artemis.

Artemis shrugged slightly, and slid her legs to the side and sat upright, "Why don't you go ask M'gann, it wouldn't be perfect without her, you see," she said, rolling her eyes a little, looking a bit reproachfully at Wally.

Robin lifted both eyebrows and let out a small whistle, remembering what had happened last time.

- _flashback—_

 _"Megan, my princess, do you want to go with me – ahem, us to the movies? You'll love it!" Wally said, grinning at M'gann one day. He, Robin and Zatanna were going to the movies that afternoon, and Wally had insisted they invite M'gann, completely forgetting about the other girl in the team._

 _"They're coming too, and it wouldn't be perfect until you came," Wally continued, in his very flirtatious way –one that M'gann found a little annoying, but laughed it off, smiling at the thought of him ever thinking that they could go out. He was more of a younger brother to her- grinning at M'gann._

 _Artemis, who had been sitting on the table next to M'gann, scrunched up her eyebrows in annoyance, "Of course, with M'gann it would be just perfect. I'm just invisible to everyone," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes slightly._

 _Wally probably never heard her, but Dick had been sitting next to Artemis that time, and he heard the few low spoken words. He could hear bitterness and…hurt behind the annoyed words, and he felt bad about how he – they made her feel._

 _Unwanted._

 _-end flashback—_

Wally frowned in confusion, "What do you mean, Artemis?" he asked, wondering what she meant. In truth, he had heard her that day, but at that time he cared for her less than a fly if it could go to that. But now, he wanted to make things up to her.

Artemis bit her lip and looked away, "Nothing, Wally. It doesn't matter, it's nothing," she replied, glancing up and forcing a small smile.

Wally bit back his pride and zipped up to her, "You're coming, right? It'll be really fun! And trust me, you don't want to miss this," he paused for a moment, and looked at her for a moment, before adding in a low tone, "I don't want you to miss this,"

Artemis' eyes softened and widened in surprise. She returned his hopeful smile, "Sure, whatever you say…Baywatch,"

Wally's face broke into a grin, "Great!" he said, giving her a sincere, soft smile before moving away again, seeing that the others were watching them, small smiles on their own faces.

Robin had heard his lowly spoken words, and he smiled a little. For once he didn't tease them, and let this moment pass, even though it was great blackmail material. He, for one, could see plainly that Wally was being different towards Artemis now. He could see that he wasn't as flirty with M'gann anymore.

But he'd almost lost his flirtiness altogether because whenever Artemis stepped into the room, his knees went weak. She was the only girl that made him feel this way. The shining spitfire in the crowd.

After a few moments, M'gann and Zatanna came from the kitchen and happily agreed to go to the movies. Conner and Kaldur didn't have anything to do, so they simply shrugged in agreement.

"Artemis! Zatanna! Come with me!" M'gann squealed suddenly, and she grabbed both their arms and linked them with her own. Zatanna and Artemis exchanged wary glances, and inwardly groaned as M'gann led them away.

"We'll be back soon! Just give us twenty minutes!" M'gann called out to the boys, as she and the other two turned the corner.

Wally quirked an eyebrow, turning to Robin, "What's she planning to do? And why is it going to take twenty freakin' minutes?" he asked.

Robin raised both eyebrows and watched the girls as they disappeared around the corner, before turning to Wally, a small teasing smirk on his face, "With M'gann..you never know. Let's just hope they can survive when they're released," he laughed, and Wally cracked a grin at him.

* * *

 ** _Oh, M'gann... *sigh* RIP Zatanna and Artemis XD._**

 ** _Thank you_** puppylover2448 **_and_** ** _everyone else! Your reviews seriously mean a lot to me and push me to continue. I just hope you're all still readin' n stuff...  
_** ** _Also, this chapter would've been longer, but I'll do that in the next one. Besides, it's really late at night where I live, but I just had to write one chapter before sleeping._**

 _ **see ya,  
**_ thefanster out!


	6. Got You Back

_**Heyy, I'm back! Thought I'd update quickly again! Idk when the next one is gonna be, but hope you like this one!**_

 _ **By the way, if you're into spitfire stories, particularly ones set after "Insecurities" (I'm literally obsessed with these type lmao), then I have more.  
"Insecure and Selfish" and "Tears" are some of them. So if you want, you could go see them! The first one is my most viewed fic, btw! **_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

"M'gann, where are you going? Why do we have to come?" Zatanna groaned, as she was pulled into Megan's room along with Artemis, who had a similar exasperated expression on her face.

M'gann simply smiled and pushed her friends onto her couch, "Not you, Zatanna, just Artemis," she said with an almost evil smile.

Artemis groaned, "Why me?" she ran a hand through her messy hair.

Zatanna punched the air, "Yes!" she said in relief. She and M'gann exchanged glances, and

Zatanna looked back at Artemis, a small smirk on the edges of her lips, "Don't you want to impress Wally?" she asked, sneakily.

Artemis' eyes widened, "What?!" she choked, "No! I am _so_ not doing anything if that's what you're thinking! No way," she said, shaking her hands on emphasis.

M'gann's lips twitched, "Wally will love it, Artemis…just like he loves you," she teased, innocently looking at her friend.

Artemis turned beet red, "W-What? N-No! That's n-not true….I…uh…" her voice trailed off, and she embarrassedly shifted on the bed, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

Zatanna grinned, "Alright, _I'm_ doing the hair! Trust me Artemis, when we're done with you, Wally will drop dead,"

* * *

Dick glanced up at the clock, it had been more than twenty minutes and the girls still weren't back, "What's taking them so long?" he muttered, shaking his head in amusement, "Girls…"

Wally nodded in agreement, "Probably something M'gann wanted to do," he shrugged, leaning couch, his eyes on the entrance.

Robin's lip lifted in a small smirk, "SOmeone isn't reproaching Artemis," he whisteled, "Did I just hear you say something remotely bad about M'gann and forget Artemis entierly? Or maybe you remembered her, like you do all the time, and said something nice? Eh, Wally?"

Wally's face flushed up, and he looked indignantly at Robin, "No!" he exclaimed quickly, though his burning face said differently, as Robin saw.

Dick's smirk grows, and he lifted both his eyebrows, "Denial!" he sang loudly, causing Conner to turn around and eye the two boys.

"It's true, Wally likes her," he commented, shrugging plainly.

Dick's eyes widened is surprise, "That's it, Con!" he exclaimed with a huge grin, clapping Superboy's back approvingly, "See, Wally? Even Conner agrees,"

Robin turned in confusion to look at Wally, "Wally?" he asked, but Wally was too busy staring at the door.

* * *

"No! I want to change, let me go!" Artemis cried, digging her heels into the floor, helplessly trying to get away from her two friends.

Zatanna groaned, she had both hands on Artemis' arm, trying to pull her forward, "Artemis, come _on,"_ she jerked her forward, which Artemis finally did.

M'gann was behind the two girls, trying to push Artemis forward, a tired and exasperated expression on her face, "Artemis, you look amazing. Just.. _move_ ," she groaned, pushing her forward.

"No! I need to change, I don't look like me and this is nonsen - stop!" Artemis broke off, trying her best to stay back, as they were nearing the lounge.

M'gann rolled her eyes, "Nothing's going to happen, you don't look bad, trust me," she sighed, giving Artemis an imploring look.

Zatanna moaned, "Just come already, will you?" she pleaded, "It's just today, come on!" she added, pulling Artemis' arm again.

"Fine, fine! I'm coming," Artemis gave in, straightening her shirt and walking forward, shooting an annoyed glare at the two girls as the linked their arms with her and half pulled her into the lounge.

' _My luck,_ ' Artemis thought sarcastically. Wally's eyes were fixed on the entrance, and he was the first to see them. His eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth dropped slightly when he saw Artemis.

M'gann straightened out her pink knee length dress with a small smile, "Sorry we took long," she apologized quickly.

Zatanna nodded, "Miss indignant wasn't letting us do anything," she added, rolling her eyes at Artemis who crossed her arms...indignantly, "You should've seen how she fidgeted and shouted," Zatanna continued, laughing lightly.

Wally simply nodded, but he was too busy staring at Artemis to actually understand what Zatanna was saying.

Artemis wasn't wearing much, but the girls had indeed changed her quite a bit. They had put smokey green eyeshadow and black mascara -with much difficulty-. M'gann had also insisted they put eyeliner, so altogether, it looked amazing and her face glowed.

She was wearing a forest green turtleneck, with skinny jeans that really showed her pretty legs. They were tight just at the right places, in a way that made Wally's mouth dry. Zatanna had chosen some golden, dangling earrings and a choker.

Artemis had made sure that she had a part in this, too, and had tied a jacket around her waist, ignoring the protests from her friends.

Artemis suddenly felt uncomfortable under Wally's stare, and shifted awkwardly, throwing a death glare at M'gann and Zatanna, who were exchanging satisfied glances.

She felt a blush creep up her cheeks, just as Wally caught himself and cleared his throat, "Uhm, yeah...uhh...let's..go…" he said hurriedly, glancing around quickly and zipping away to the exit before the teasing began.

Robin grinned, "Good work, this is whelming," he bumped his shoulder with Zatanna as they followed Wally's disappearing figure.

Zatanna grinned back at him, rubbing her hands together maliciously, "Thanks," she laughed, "Let's just hope Wally watches the movie and doesn't spend all the time looking at Artemis," she added with a short chuckle.

Artemis glared at her two teammates, "He wouldn't and _won't_ be doing that," she said firmly, waling up to them. Her glare suddenly disappeared and a small smirk tugged at her lips as she eyed the two.

Zatanna and Robin didn't speak because the look of mischief Artemis had in her eyes had made them stop and think twice.

"You two are the cutest, you know," she said, innocently, "Always together! You're just goals! I really ship chalant, don't you, Robin?" Artemis looked evilly at Dick, who visibly paled.

Zatanna had flushed up at Artemis' words, "What's chalant?" she asked, confusedly looking at Robin.

Artemis smirked more, "It's-"

"N-Nothing! Zee - uh, I mean Zatanna! I don't know what she's talking about," Robin hurriedly interrupted, shaking his hands quickly.

Artemis quirked an eyebrow at him, her smirk more visible than ever, "Oh forget about what that is, Zatanna," she said, and Robin let out a small sigh of relief, "But have you ever noticed the way Robin looks at you? Oh, you two are so cute!" she gushed.

Dick turned beet red, and avoided Zatanna's glance, as she was doing as well.

"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone!" Artemis continued, "Next time, Robin, maybe ask Zatanna to go with you to the movies... _alone_ ," she added once, grinning in satisfaction as she walked past them, throwing a wink towards Robin before she left to go to M'gann.

"Ahem….I should go to...uh….Wally…" Robin cleared his throat, daring to look up at Zatanna once, his face burning in embarrassment, "B-Bye, Z-Zatanna," he added, almost sprinting away.

Artemis watched them from the corner of her eye, "Got you back, Dick," she laughed to herself, grinning as she walked with M'gann.

* * *

 ** _Omg, I love chalant! Artemis reaaaally got em back! Go girl! XD_**

 ** _Thanks, Guest for reviewing! They really meant a lot to me, and help a lot! I'm not sure if two different people reviewed, as they were both 'guest', but if two ppl did, thankssss both of youuu!_**

 ** _See ya,  
thefanster outtt!_**


	7. Author's Note: Votes and Updates

_Whoop whoop! Look who's back? Yep, I'm back! (That was weird)_

 _Anyway, I'm finally back from my month long vacation, and moved into my new home. I'll try to update more often, weekly or daily, but we'll have to work together on this. I now have more than 20 fics that need updating, so I'm constantly forgetting which ones to do next. If you could leave a quick reminder sometimes, that would be great._

 _Anywho, I'll be updating yay! Btw, I have a new Spitfire fic called "Frustrated and Angry" so def check it out.  
 **Time to vote! Do you want Spitfire to..**_

 ** _A) Get together a bit fast  
B) A slow growing relationship _**

_Which ever one gets more votes, I'll do it._

 _See ya,  
I'm out!_


	8. Author's Note: Should I Continue This?

_Hey,_

 _This is an author's note to a lot of my stories, most of which I haven't updated in a while. RL was very busy, it still is, and kinda stressful. And I'm really sorry I haven't updated anything.. I just wasn't motivated, and didn't feel good about them. Writing is stressful, it really is, but for the sake of the few people who're reading this, I'll try my best and update the fics._

 _I was in a competition, too, and that's why I never got a chance. So just know that. If you want me to continue this story, can you tell me? I just don't know if anyone's reading it anymore._

 _I'm really sorry,  
Ra _


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